


Silhouettes in the Fog

by SofaKills



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Persona 4
Genre: Crossover, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-29 00:50:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3876187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SofaKills/pseuds/SofaKills
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a stranger shows up on the Midnight Channel, the Investigation Team makes their way into the other world as usual. Though, what they come to face is no ordinary Shadow, and who is the man that was thrown in?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silhouettes in the Fog

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has spawned from my interest in both P4 and APH, and despite that it may not be the best depiction of any character mentioned. Nonetheless, I hope you will enjoy this work. There may be more in the future, though that is yet to be seen.

It wasn't supposed to happen, at least not like this.

Blood was spread over the floor, letting the group of mere students step in the quickly hardening liquid.

They had come into the world of fog like normal- To save the one that had been thrown inside-and gone about the operation as they would normally.   
With Yu, the wild card in lead and the others under his command, things looked bright.

Though, as they began to hear the common voices of the Shadow, things took a different turn. The voice of the host joined as well, and the voice of them was frantic, almost pleading at some points.

The first one to speak up about it was Kanji, the first-year student that had this time's victim as his homeroom teacher.

"What the hell is that thing talking about?"  
Some guesses were thrown about as the group moved forward through the seemingly endlessly twisting corridors of the building.

"Maybe it's like this because it was an adult this time instead of a student?" Yukiko suggested, her brows slightly furrowed as she thought over the previous exchange that had been heard.

"That could be it, though I think it'd be different if for example King Moron was thrown in here." Yosuke replied, sighing a little.

"Maybe he's just been hiding something, and that fear is kinda blowing up in this place?" Rise butted in, giving a quick analysis to Yu as he and Kanji fought off a stray shadow along with Teddy and Chie to back them up.

"That's what happened to the rest of us, so I guess it's not really that different.. Hey Yukiko-senpai, can ya patch me up a little? One of 'em hit me square in the head." Kanji muttered, looking over to the designated 'healer' of the group.

"Of course, just be still for a moment." the older girl replied, using an item rather than a spell to do so. The group moved on to the next door, that led to another hallway.

The tatami floors turned into a constant flow of green to their sight after a while, and the sliding doors were almost broken as impatience began to get a hold of a few quick tempered members. At some point, Chie simply kicked an approaching shadow into the nearest wall. 'To get off some steam' was her excuse, and the others could grasp why. It had taken far longer than usual to reach the higher floors, and even then it was taking a very long time before they would even begin to see the final room's door.   
Yosuke spoke up after the voices had faded away to leave vague mockery from the Shadow in their wake.   
"When are we gonna reach the end of this goddamn place? It feels like we've been in here for hours by now!"

"We'll know the end when we see it, so move your feet and pick up your pace so we'll get there a bit faster!" Chie retorted, giving him a light smack on the head before falling back into line with the others.

With the final floor being cleared enough to reach the door, the group took a few minutes of some well deserved rest before preparing themselves to head inside.

"This is it, guys. Behind that door is Honda-sensei, and his Shadow as well. You ready?" Rise asked, briefly scanning the group. They all nodded, and let the doors open to reveal what was inside.

The man that the two first-year students had come to admire was practically kneeling by the figure of himself, grasping his head as if to block out what it was saying to him.   
The group fell silent, the tension of the room feeling like it could choke them all.

" _All you can do is cower in fear as soon as anyone above you shows even a hint of anger, isn't that right? What happened to your pride, and your power? Oh yes, that bastard tore it all down, and you've become nothing but the lapdog to them, heeding their every order like your life still depended on it! Look at yourself, you pitiful fucking maggot. Don't you want to go back to an era where you had power? When you could crush those that stood in your way, and use them until-"_

"NO! You're wrong! I don't want to go back to that time of carnage and blood, not in a hundred millennia!" The man trembled, his expression being the twisted face of someone close to losing all hope to despair in their mistakes being uncovered. Tears were stinging in his eyes, but he held them back to glare up at the slightly scowling figure above him.

_"Tch, what a bore. You still reject me, and the past I speak of. You lock it away, pretending that it never existed. Why? Do you fear that I'm right, after all? That you want to break others again, like before?" The shadow's scowl changed to a crooked smirk as he looked down at Kiku with disgust visible in its eyes._

"SHUT UP! You know nothing, phantom!" Kiku shouted, curling his hands into fists. His knuckles turned white, as he tried to find the strength to stand.   
The shadow chuckled, and grinned.

_"I am no phantom. I am what you choose to deny, your true feelings about what you've faced, and what you've become."_

This drove Kiku over the edge, and he found himself unable to stand.   
"You are nothing but an illusion, created by this cursed fog! Leave me be!"

The shadow began to laugh, though it seemed as if it wouldn't take on a more powerful form just yet. Why wouldn't it? Was it too weak to do so... Or was it gathering more strength that way?

_"Why should I? Scared that I'll reveal you true reason for coming to this town in the middle of nowhere, and what you truly are?"_

This caused the group of Persona users to find their voices again, and made a mess of confusion as well.

"What..? Isn't he just a teacher from the city?" Yosuke asked, his expression changing to that of disbelief.

"Sure doesn't seem like it now... But then, what is he?" Chie asked, biting her lip for a moment.   
Their musings were soon interrupted as the conversation between the host and Shadow started up once more.

"Lies! You know no such thing!" Kiku screamed, the last of his composure falling to pieces as he spoke. His voice was trembling, and it was obvious that the man was close to hysteria if it would go on for much longer.

_"Oh, but I do know, Land where the Sun rises. We are the same. I am you, and you are the nation of Japan."_

The atmosphere's tension skyrocketed in seconds, and there was an immediate reaction from the group.

"What the hell..? That's impossible, right?" Kanji asked, looking to the other members of the group for confirmation that he wasn't alone in thinking that. He received nods of agreement, for the most part.

"We'll see if it's true or not after this is over." Yu said, bringing their thoughts to a halt as they returned their attention to Kiku.

Kiku seemed to curl in on himself, gritting his teeth.

"No...." he whispered, glaring at the shadow once more.

"You are not me! You're only a wretched phantom!"   
The shadow laughed once again, though it was a drawn out laugh, one that the group all recognized as being that of a changing Shadow. However, to their surprise, it took a turn none of them would have expected.

 _"You let your guard down, old man."_ With those words, the shadow lashed out in a split second and buried its hand in Kiku's chest. The shadow pulled him up from the floor, a twisted smirk appearing on its face for a moment. The man coughed, scarlet red staining his lips and chin as a large blotch of red spread from the wound and seeped into his clothing. Then, he was simply dropped to the floor as the Shadow changed form.

Almost immediately, the group's leader summoned his persona and let loose what was probably the strongest spell he had in his arsenal. Then, he began to give orders to the rest of the group.

"Yukiko! Head over to Honda-san and make sure to keep him stable. Chie, back up Yukiko. Yosuke, help me keep this Shadow at bay. Kanji, you fight too. Rise, scan it for weaknesses. Teddie, fight alongside Chie. Don't let your guard down." he said, shifting his grip on his current weapon before engaging in a rush toward the newly transformed Shadow.

It was almost humanoid, but it held no facial features. The Imperial flag covered what would have been its face, and it seemed to have a strange fusion of military uniforms and the robes of old covering it's body. A great number of swords was piercing it, save for what looked to be a gun aiming to its head through another appendage.   
It spoke with the same distorted voice as it had been before, though it seemed amused.

_"I am a Shadow, the true self.. If you fools wish to best me, then you are in way over your heads. You better give up and die a warrior's death before I crush you all!”_

Kanji growled, glaring up at it. "Like hell we will, you goddamn militant asscheese!"   
Yosuke gave him a look, but was quickly forced to return his focus to their target as it gathered energy to lash out to them. Kanji quickly moved to guard, alongside Yosuke as Chie and Teddie formed a protective wall in front of Yukiko and Kiku. Rise stayed alongside those who were focusing on the Shadow, summoning her Persona to scan it as she'd been told to.

"It doesn't have any weaknesses, but it's strong against Fire!" she yelled out after a few seconds, quickly stepping back to get out of the way of those fighting.  
As the energy it had gathered was released, it was clear that it was a Wind spell.   
This let Yosuke get off an attack himself as he didn't need to waste time with guarding a weakness he didn't have.

"Take this! he yelled, lashing out with his dual weapons alongside his Persona to perform a Strike attack. It seemed succesful, as the Shadow was almost thrown back by the force. Kanji followed up with a similar attack, as Yu gathered the energy he needed to unleash a Darkness spell.   
The Shadow recoiled from their attacks, though only momentarily as it lashed out again.   
Chie and Teddie blocked any attack that would come near Yukiko, leaving the girl to focus entirely on the wounded man. Though, while she did that, she noticed something.

"He should be unconscious by now.. Yet he isn't. Why is that..?" she thought aloud, regularly using one of the many healing spells she knew to keep his condition stable. Still, the wound was refusing to close even if the bleeding stopped. And for each time the ground rumbled from the battle, it resumed within moments.

As it went on, the Shadow began to weaken. But as it did, it began to use far more powerful spells. Even those that held affinities with the elements the spells used were hurt severely, leaving Yu and Yosuke to mostly do healing spells as Yukiko sometimes used a spell to heal them all at once.

"Tch, how long is this gonna take?!" Yosuke shouted as he once again lashed out toward the Shadow.

"How the hell would I know!? Just keep hitting it!" Kanji roared, performing a critical hit as he spoke.   
Eventually, the battle came to an end as Yu landed the final hit with Chie's help. Her impatience had reached a boiling point, and so she rushed over to the Shadow as Yu prepared for a final attack. The Shadow writhed as it fell, but didn't say anything as it dissolved and took on the first form it had held.

Kanji walked over to where Yukiko and Kiku were, taking his jacket to tie it over the wound before picking him up. The man was still conscious, thankfully, so he would be able to accept the Shadow.

Though, that didn't exactly go according to plan. Rather than complying to being held, Kiku got down of his own accord before walking over to the Shadow. He didn't say anything, but instead gazed at it for a few moments. Without a word, the Shadow simply nodded and changed forms. This time, it took on the form of a Persona. It then faded away, letting the group sigh in relief for a moment.   
Kiku stood there for a moment, slightly swaying before collapsing. Kanji simply picked him up again, following the rest as they hurried out of the room.

Though, they came to a halt as they reached the exit of the fog clad world.   
Yu looked at Teddie and Rise. "Could you two find another exit? We can't go out into Junes like this."   
The two nodded, and set off to find another exit. The group followed, as Yukiko continued to heal Kiku regularly to keep him stable until they would find an exit. After a while, they managed to as Teddie made the stack of televisions appear.   
"Now go!" he yelled, and shoved them all through the exit before going through it himself.

As they came to after the fall through it, they noticed that they were in a storage of some sort. A window was nearby, and after a quick check, they determined that it was safe to go through it. Yosuke, Yu, Chie and Yukiko went first. Kanji carefully moved Kiku through it, letting Yu and Yosuke catch him before going through himself. Rise came after, along with Teddie. They then headed out of the area to the nearest street so they could call an ambulance.

It didn't take long for them to arrive, but as none of them were related to Kiku they were forced to stay as the EMT's got to work with treating him. They watched as the vehicle headed in the direction of the hospital, in a collected, tense silence.   
It was broken by Yosuke, who looked at Kanji.

"You should probably clean off somewhere, you've got blood spots on your back."   
Kanji blinked, and tried to twist in order to look at them himself for a bit before giving up.

"My mom will flip if I come home like this.." he muttered, sighing. Chie placed a hand on Kanji's shoulder, grinning a little.

"You can come to my house, it's not too far from here." she said, continuing to grin.   
Yu looked at them all, thinking.

"We should meet up tomorrow, to visit Honda-san in the hospital."   
Yosuke nodded thoughtfully, recalling their shared confusion before the battle had started.

"We still need to ask him about what happened, so let's meet up at the bus stop after school tomorrow."

After deciding on that, they split up to head back to their respective homes. Yukiko went with Kanji and Chie, and Yosuke pulled Teddie with him as he walked. Rise walked beside Yu, as the two spoke about what had happened and what they would need to know in order to make some progress on the case.

The next day, they all met up by the bus stop as they had decided. Yosuke was a bit late, as he had to wait for Teddie before going to the others.   
After riding the bus until they reached the hospital, they quietly headed inside.   
Rise was the one to ask for the number of the room Kiku was staying in, and they soon were allowed up to the floor where that room was located.   
Though, they came to a halt outside the room.

"We can't just go in all at once… That would only cause problems.” Yukiko said, frowning for a moment as she stared at the door.   
The group lapsed into silence again, all of them thinking.   
Eventually, Teddie spoke up.   
“Couldn’t we go in one or two at a time? It’d give us some time to calm down, and for Honda-san to get used to us being in the room.” he said, grinning a little with pride as he’d thought of what he deemed a great idea.   
Yu nodded, considering the idea for a little bit before speaking.

“Let’s do it like Teddie suggested. We will need to all ask different things though, so we can share our findings later on, alright?” he asked, looking over everyone in the group.   
Yosuke nodded fiercely, alongside a “Sure thing!” from Chie’s and Rise’s side of the conversation. Kanji simply let out an affirmitive grunt, seeming a little impatient.

“Alright, we’ve got a plan, now who’ll go inside first?”

“I elect Narukami-senpai to do it!” Rise said, smiling for a moment as she raised her hand.   
Yu blinked, but seemed to shrug it off.

“Alright, then there is no need to wait outside anymore. Does anyone want to go inside with me?” Yukiko raised her hand, stepping over to where Yu stood.

“I have a few questions to ask, so I’d like to go in with you.”   
The silver haired youth nodded, and gave the others of the group a quick glance before entering the room.

The sound of a number of machines beeping and making various other noises was the only thing heard in the room save for the slight breeze coming through the opened window.  
The only being present in the room besides the two students was Kiku, or Honda-sensei as they knew him. A simple glance to his face told of sleeplessness, his eyes open but unseeing.   
Though, as they stepped over to the bed he seemed to snap out of his daze and turned his head to look at them in what could be described as slight confusion.

“...Why are you two here..?” he asked softly, carefully moving to sit up.

“We wanted to have a word with you regarding the events inside the Shadow World.” Yukiko answered honestly, biting back the protest against his moving that lingered on her tongue.   
Yu nodded in confirmation, simply waiting for the man to answer.

“Ah, I see… Then, ask away. As long as you can keep it between yourselves, I can answer any question you have.” he said, leaning back against the pillows with a slight wince.   
Yu nodded again, and cleared his throat before speaking.

“Firstly, do you remember how you got to the Shadow World? It’s important that we find out as much as we can about this, but if you can’t answer it’s fine.”   
This seemed to give the man something to think about, so silence soon surrounded them. But eventually, he let out a sigh before speaking.

“Simply put, I can only recall going outside during the night to get some fresh air. I couldn’t sleep, so I headed down the nearest street. In the end, I was bludgeoned in the head and taken to another location. Once I awoke, I was inside the halls of the place you went to in order to find me. I wandered, and triggered the thing that ended up wounding me.” he answered, closing his eyes for a moment after finishing.

“I see… Speaking of your wound, how come you didn’t go into unconsciousness after that? The shock should have been enough for that…” Yukiko said, deciding to get the question out of her mind. Kiku blinked, and let out a sigh.

“That is because I have suffered worse wounds during the years. Far worse. Most of them were enough to kill an ordinary man, whether he would be with or without a Persona.” Kiku answered, his hands briefly twitching.

“...Then, did that Shadow speak the truth? That you aren’t… Human?” Yukiko then asked, following a logical train of thought that soon turned on its head.   
The older man simply nodded, closing his eyes once more.

“Yes. I am not human, at least not in a true sense of the word. Though, I am not a Shadow.”   
he answered, looking at them both with an almost amused expression.

“I am, as it said, this land. Or rather, I am the proof of the unity of the people. As a result, I have lived in this world for far longer than you two can imagine.” Kiku went on to say, his expression briefly turning distant. Yu furrowed his eyebrows a little in thought, briefly looking to Yukiko to see if she wanted to say anything more. Yukiko returned his look with a simple shake of her head, letting him speak his mind.

“Why did you come here, Honda-sensei?” the boy asked, meeting the older man- no, nation’s- eyes for a moment with a simple look of concern.

“I came to ensure that this place was safe. I have sensed the supernatural happenings here, you see. Though, I was too late to stop it. And, I don’t think that I can…” his voice grew soft, and so did his gaze. Yukiko and Yu exchanged glances, as Kiku opened his mouth to speak again.

“I think your friends outside are getting a little impatient. You can let them in.” he said softly, smiling for a moment. Yukiko nodded, heading to open the door before Yu could even take a step. As she turned the handle, she quickly stepped to the side to let the others almost tumble into the room. In their impatience, they had started to attempt to listen in through the door. Though, they soon all gathered their composure and took a few spots in the room to stand in or sit down on. The first to speak was surprisingly enough Teddie, whom had taken the spot closest to the bed.

“You’re different from the others…. Why?” The question was like that of a child, which Teddie could be classified as in a sense. He knew nothing of note beyond what he’d seen and been taught by the rest of the group, leaving him with the mind of a child. Still, Kiku listened to his words and considered his words before answering.

“Because I’m not human, like you. Though, we are still connected to this world in different ways. You have your friends, and I have the bonds of the people.” he said, reaching out to place his hand on Teddie’s head. Teddie blinked, taking it in before smiling.

“Alright!” he said, briefly looking to the others with a rather clear expression. It more or less was ‘You guys want to say anything?’ coupled with a headtilt that looked rather awkward as Kiku hadn’t moved his hand. Yosuke let out a snort, but managed to keep his laughter under control as Chie spoke.

“When’re you gonna be released from the hospital?” It was a simple question, compared to what Yukiko, Yue and Teddie had put on the table.   
Kiku lapsed into thought for a moment, absentmindedly running his fingers through Teddie’s hair for a little bit before answering.

“Probably sooner than you might think. Around two weeks or less, if I need to give an estimation.” the man said, removing his hand from Teddie’s head as he spoke.

“That’s fast… Are you sure it’ll really take only that much time to heal?” Rise asked, one eyebrow arched as she spoke.

Kiku nodded, smiling for a moment. “Yes, I am sure.” he replied, closing his eyes.

“You should head home soon, all of you. You have studying to do, right?” he asked, seeming almost amused as Yosuke and Chie expressed their distaste of studying with a collective groan. Kanji let out a snort, standing up straight before looking to the others.

“He’s right, and he needs to get some sleep sometime.” he said, walking over to the door.

“True… So we’ll say goodbye for now, Honda-sensei.” Yosuke said with a small grin, following Kanji’s lead alongside Yukiko and the rest after they had all said their goodbyes. Yu was soon the only one left in the room, as he met Kiku’s inquisitive gaze.

“You do not have the same ability as them, do you?”   
In response to the elder’s words, the student shook his head.

“I can summon more than one Persona.” he said, blinking.

Kiku nodded, closing his eyes for a moment before letting out a sigh.   
“I see…. Once I have healed, please bring me to that world again. I want to see what my Persona may be.”

Yu blinked, staring at the man in mild disbelief before simply nodding. “I’ll do that. Get some rest now, Honda-san.” he said, offering something akin to a smile before leaving the room.   
\----

For a time after that, things progressed as one would perhaps expect. The group made progress, and with the help of Kiku they were able to stay only for as long as they needed to in the Shadow World. They could return at a decent time each day they entered the other world, letting there be time to rest up decently before school started once more.   
Kanji and Rise were given the task of watching Kiku’s condition, as they all knew that the wound wouldn’t heal easily, even with the man’s abnormal abilities. Things were almost peaceful, for a while.

Until the fog began to slowly seep into their world, that is.

It had begun as any other day, with the added complaints that the fog was being difficult to navigate through. Kiku noted a strange feeling of tautness in his chest, but dismissed it as a side effect of straining himself a little and went on with teaching like he normally would have. Only, during the lesson where Rise and Kanji's class were present, something drastically changed.   
It was as if something was draining away his energy, opening up a void within his chest. He lost his breath, pausing in the lecture as he paled severely. Then, as he took a breath, it felt as if something wrapped itself around his throat to strangle him. He broke down into a coughing fit, clutching his chest with his free hand as he tried to remain upright by leaning on the catheder. The students were frozen in horror as the coughing continued, specks of red staining the man's lips before he covered it up. Rise managed to snap out of it, standing up before heading over to the man. She yanked Kanji with her, turning back to the students.

"Anyone who has a phone, call an ambulance! Kanji and I will bring him out to the gates, so get it done!" she shouted, looking at her friend as he carefully hoisted up the coughing man on his back. Without a word, he began to head out of the room. Rise stayed for a minute or so, watching as a student explained to the nurse that had answered what had happened. Soon enough, the blaring noise of sirens could be heard, along with screeching tires as the vehicle came to a halt by the gates. Kanji ran the last few meters, letting the paramedics take the sick man to the hospital. He then headed inside just in time to see Rise explaining to another teacher what had happened. An announcement was made, dismissing the students for the day.   
It only took a minute or so before the sounds of rapid footsteps came down the hall as Yosuke, Yu, Chie and Yukiko came running to where Kanji and Rise stood.

"What the hell's going on?!" Yosuke almost yelled, being a little panicked. Understandable, considering the circumstances.   
Chie placed a hand on his shoulder, a silent gesture of 'calm down'.   
Kanji let out a sigh, pointing to a few spots of blood on his shoulder.

"Honda-sensei collapsed in the classroom. We called an ambulance, and brought him out. That's all that happened, but we can't tell you why it did. That explain it?" he explained, finishing with a question.   
Yosuke simply nodded, running his hands through his hair.

"Let's bring this conversation elsewhere, or else we'll sound like morons." Chie said, looking at the others in the group decisively before starting to walk.

The group ended up heading to the roof, closing the door before they all sat down to discuss the recent event.  
Yu had been in deep thought the entire way up, eyebrows furrowed into what could be an almost angry expression.   
The others in the group gave him a few curious glances, waiting for him to speak.   
He let out a quiet sigh, closing his eyes before starting to talk.

"It's probably the fog." he stated simply, glancing to the barely visible ground below the roof.

"The fog? What do you mean by that?" Yukiko asked, blinking.

"So he collapsed because of the fog? How does that work?" Chie asked, her expression turning into one of confusion.   
Rise nodded, snapping her fingers a little.

"He's the country, so it makes a little sense he'd be affected by something like this. I mean, people have gotten sick just from walking around in this fog. Imagine what it's like for him, who feels it spreading."   
Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko and Kanji reacted at different times and in different ways to the former idol's words, but they reached a consensus of silence soon after.

"So, I guess we gotta get our asses together to solve this faster?" Kanji asked, letting out a sigh before standing up.

“Yeah, or else this fog will cause even worse things to happen… Though, we should go see how he’s doing. He’s a good link to how that world’s clock works, after all.” Chie suggested, jumping up from her seat.

After a few minutes of silence as they headed out of the school, they made their way to the hospital. It took far longer than usual, due to the fog hindering traffic. But after around twenty minutes or so, they arrived at the hospital. This time, there was no need to agree on who would enter first. They simply walked into the room quietly, Yukiko quietly taking the seat of a hard plastic chair that stood by the bed. Without much else needing to be said, they simply kept an eye on the man on the bed. A mask was covering his face, and he seemed to be sleeping, if the monitor of one of the machines was anything to go on. Though, he woke up a few minutes after they had all lapsed into thought.

“...You came to see me again.” Kiku said quietly, almost in a hoarse whisper.

“Why wouldn’t we? We were worried, y’know.” Yosuke said, trying to speak familiarly with the man. Whether it worked or not was something that neither made note of, but it did open up a more freed space to speak in.

“You should be able to find the culprit soon. The fog isn’t done spreading, but enough time has passed for them to slip up. Continue like you have, and it’ll be fine.” The words wouldn’t have been very reassuring, had they come from anyone else’s mouth. But from the man who held a deeper connection to the fog illness(as it had come to be called, due to the amount of hospitalizations of citizens in Inaba because of it.) than any of them, they gave a warm feeling to all of them.

“...When will you be released this time, Honda-san?” Yukiko asked, looking at the man without hiding her concern in the least.

The man coughed softly, though he took almost too long to answer. That alone acted as a response, though he still spoke up.

“...I don’t know. I might not be released until we manage to find a way to get rid of the fog.” he said softly, letting out a quiet sigh.   
“If that is the case, then I will entrust you with the task of solving the riddle. I’ll support you to the best of my ability.” Kiku then said, smiling after speaking. It reassured the group a little, and strengthened their shared resolve.

“We’ll come back at a better time, so get some rest. We know you’re more hardy than a regular human, but you can’t go back to work yet.” Chie said with a slight grin, her hands resting in the pockets of her jacket as she spoke. With that said, the group moved on to say their goodbyes before leaving the room. Now, the island nation was alone once more.

He could sense a presence within himself, one that he could identify as a strong source of strength if he were to focus on it. And, he recalled witnessing the battle in the foggy world beyond the screen somewhat. They had all mentioned the term ‘Persona’, at some point in time.   
Perhaps this was it? The nation smiled for a moment, and closed his eyes as he focused intently on attempting to summon it. When he opened them again, he could see a faint outline of a feminine figure floating above him. Though, it soon faded away as he felt a sudden rush of exhaustion.   
“Summoning outside of that world can’t be done now, I suppose… I’m too weak.” he mused, letting out a quiet sigh. “I will have to see what you are like later on.”

With that said, he closed his eyes and let himself slip back into unconsciousness. He dreamt of a faint outline in a fog clad world, struggling to move forward in order to catch a glimpse of who the silhouette was. But, he never reached it. And so, the dream faded away into blackness.


End file.
